


A Night out on the Town

by bellabeatrice



Series: Bella's Parkner Week 2019 [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Flirting, Fluff, Jealousy, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 11:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20096440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellabeatrice/pseuds/bellabeatrice
Summary: Peter’s type is pretty boys and girls who are out of his league, including but not limited to Flash’s prom date. It’s not his fault that Harley Keener looks absolutely irresistible.Parkner Week 2019 Day Two: “They Were Roommates” / Prom / Jealousy





	A Night out on the Town

**Author's Note:**

> I got a little carried away, so this is like fifty percent MJ, Ned, and Peter shennanigans and fifty percent Harley and Peter. I just really love my disaster Midtown students. Enjoy!

The music in the gymnasium is loud, and it makes Peter cringe. If it weren’t for the earplugs and Ned’s steady grip on his arm, he’d surely be whimpering in a ball on the floor. 

“Remind me why we’re here again?” he asked Ned as they made their way through the crowd to the table MJ commandeered. 

“Because even losers like us crave a cliché high school experience,” Ned shouted back with a grin. 

Neither of them had a date. Peter had asked MJ. She fondly told him that dates were for the patriarchy but promised him a dance anyway. Ned and Betty, Midtown’s favorite on-and-off couple, were on a break. Betty was out dancing with a boy from a different high school, and Ned was hanging off of Peter’s arm. Technically, Peter mused, glancing at their matching Star Wars ties, they were each other’s date. The ridiculous number of tacky prom pose photos in possession of Ned’s parents and May sealed the deal. 

“Oh no,” MJ deadpanned as the two boys slid into seats next to her. “I’m third-wheeling with dorky and dorkier.”

“Aw, shut up, MJ. You love us,” Ned said. 

MJ made a face. “Love? Pfft, no. Tolerate, maybe. You doing alright, Peter?”

Peter, who had only been half-listening, jumped at the sound of his name. He reluctantly drew his eyes away from the pretty blond boy whose arm Flash was hanging off of and stared questioningly at his friends. “Hmm?”

“I asked if you were alright. Keep up. You’re clearly not. What’s on your mind?” MJ replied.

Peter nudged his chin toward Flash and his date. “Who’s that?”

Ned answered, “Who? The boy with Flash? That’s Harley Keener. Flash met him at that robotics workshop Stark Industries hosted over spring break.”

“And they were roommates,” MJ added, her lips twitching. 

Ned smiled. “Oh my God, they were roommates.” 

Peter glared at his friends as they high-fived each other He was supposed to have gone to the workshop, but a nasty run-in with an armed robber the night before it started left Peter with a gunshot wound in his stomach. He was bedridden for the whole week, even with his advanced healing. Tony’s orders. Peter hadn’t been that upset at the time, especially since Tony dragged a chunk of the lab up to his room and did a bunch of robotics stuff with him. However, looking at the blond boy dancing with Flash with a slightly pained expression, Peter couldn’t help but feel like he had missed out.

“Peter’s got a crush,” Ned teased.

“Do not!” 

MJ added, “And it’s on yet another person way out of your league. You’ve got a type.”

“Shut up,” Peter mumbled, burying his face in his arms. He ignored MJ’s tapping on his shoulder. “You weren’t that out of my league.”

He could hear MJ’s skepticism as she replied, “And yet who showed up without a date after I turned him down?”

“Touche,” Peter sighed, twisting to face his friends. “Besides, I do have a date. Ned’s my date.”

“Dude, are you kidding me?” Ned asked with a laugh. “If I’m your date, then I feel obligated to tell you that your promposal was lame. And by lame, I mean nonexistent.”

“Oh, come on!” As his friends burst into laughter, even the usually stoic MJ, Peter couldn’t help but laugh with them, despite the embarrassed blush painting his face.

He didn’t have a crush, he told himself as he watched Harley laugh at some joke Brad told. He just knew a pretty face when he saw one, and Harley was beautiful. He was all fluffy hair and freckled cheeks and sexy Southern drawl Peter could hear from across the gym, even over the blast of pop music. His smile quite literally lit up the room, attracting Peter’s attention as he tried to converse normally with his friends.

“Ask him to dance, Peter,” Ned suggested.

“What? No! He’s here with Flash, anyway,” Peter groused. “Stupid Flash.”

“Jealousy isn’t a good look on you,” MJ told him. 

“I’m not jealous!”

MJ sighed. “Come on, dance with me then. I promised you we would.”

Peter smiled and took her outstretched hand. “Then dance we shall, madam.”

“What about me?” Ned squawked.

MJ waved her hand vaguely. “Ask Betty for a dance. She’s waiting for Flynn or Phil or whatever the boy she brought’s name is to get her a drink, but what’s-his-name is chatting up Jenny Carson in the punch line.”

Peter threw a thumbs up and mouthed “Good luck” over his shoulder at Ned as MJ led him to the dance floor. An annoyingly familiar TikTok song was playing, but Peter did his best to move to the rhythm of it.

After a few songs, Peter and MJ went back to their table. Ned and Betty were sitting there beings disgustingly cute again, and Betty’s date was nowhere to be found. Peter shook his head. His friends were ridiculous.

Somehow, they ended up discussing Harley Keener again. “I don’t think he really likes Flash,” Betty told them. 

“I didn’t know anyone could like Flash,” MJ said with a smile.

“Why’d he go with Flash, then?” Peter asked.

Betty shrugged. “Maybe he’s just nice. Flash is infatuated with Harley. It’s kind of funny, honestly.”

Peter ignored the sour taste in his mouth at the mention of Flash.

A boy dropped into the empty seat by Peter without warning, causing him to nearly leap out of his chair. Worst of all, it was Harley, and Peter’s heart was racing so fast he thought it would leap out of his chest. “Sorry for dropping in like this. Hope y’all don’t mind. My buddy who I’m here with is kind of getting on my nerves, and I’m trying to escape him for a few moments.”

“Whatever, loser. It’s fine,” MJ replied, saving Peter from needing to stammer out a shaky response. “We get it. Flash is kind of a dick.”

“Kind of?” Peter muttered under his breath. He looked up when Harley laughed, feeling his face heat at the sight.

Harley was so damn beautiful he literally took Peter’s breath away, and he choked on nothing. MJ patted his back roughly with an unimpressed face.

“I’m Harley Keener, by the way,” he said as an afterthought.

“I’m MJ. This is Ned Leeds, Betty Brant, and-”

Peter extended his hand, hoping no one would notice it shaking. “I’m Peter. Peter Parker.”

Harley shook his hand, and Peter tried to ignore the way Harley’s hand felt in his. Oh, who was he kidding? Even if he never saw the boy again, he’d probably still remember it for the rest of his life. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Peter Peter Parker. I like your tie.”

“Thanks.” Peter’s face was probably so red that it could substitute for a stop sign.

Their small group filled all the chairs that could fit around the little table, and Peter relished in the glares Flash sent their way.

Harley fit right in with Peter’s friends, and before they knew it, they had just fifteen minutes until they could leave. Harley stood up, and for a heart-wrenching moment, Peter believed he would go back to Flash. Instead, he held out his hand to Peter. “Dance with me?”

“Wh-what?”

“Dance with me, Peter. I’ve seen the way Flash has been glaring at you the whole night, and I want to make him jealous.”

“Why would you want to make Flash jealous?” Peter said, grimacing. He took Harley’s hand anyway and let the boy lead him to the middle of the floor.

“Because he’ll leave me alone, and I’ll be free to dance with the prettiest boy in the room, who somehow, luckily for me, came to prom without a date.”

“Oh, shut up. I am not the prettiest boy in the room.”

“Sure, honeybun, whatever you say. If it’s not you, then who is it?”

Peter looked up at Harley and took a deep, shuddering breath. “You.”

“Lord, you’re a walking cliche,” Harley said, rubbing his thumb in a maddening circle on Peter’s waist. “I like you.”

Before Peter could reply, the speakers crackled to life as Principal Morita announced that prom had ended. A cheer went up as the students began flooding out of the gym. 

“Wanna get out of here?” Peter yelled into Harley’s ear.

“Yeah. Follow me. I’ve got a car.”

Peter was impressed by anyone who could drive. He never had the time to get his license. Tony tried to teach him once, but by the end, Peter had almost crashed twice, and they both had whiplash. They never tried again.

“You’ve got a nice car,” Peter said, sliding into the passenger seat. He shot a text to his friends, letting them know that he was fine. He didn’t tell them he was with Harley. He’d face their teasing another day.

“Thanks,” Harley said, starting the car. “I built her myself.”

Peter gaped. “You what?”

“Built her myself. There was this wreck of a Camaro in the junkyard, almost nothing left. I took it and fixed her right up. She’s my baby, this car.”

“Brains, beauty, and brawn? You’re a package deal,” Peter said, blushing as soon as the words left his mouth. 

Harley glanced at him and flashed a smile. “And you’re flirty. I think it’s cute.”

They were quiet as Harley pulled out of Midtown and hit the road. “Where are we going?” Peter asked.

“I was going to ask you that. I kind of want to grab some food, if that’s fine with you.”

“Oh, that’s great! I’m pretty hungry myself. There’s this really good diner I know that’s close by. I’ll direct you.”

“Sounds good.”

They drove to the diner, chattering all the way about anything and everything that came to mind. Harley told Peter the story of how he met Flash, which had Peter in tears of laughter as they got out of the car.

“I was supposed to attend the workshop. I got in and everything, but I got sick and couldn’t go,” Peter said after they had ordered.

Harley sighed. “That’s a shame. I’d much rather have you for a roommate and prom date than Flash.”

“You’re sweet.”

“I mean it. I really like you, Peter.”

Peter blushed, and he felt his heartbeat pick up. “Well, that’s good because I really like you too.”

Later that evening, Harley took Peter home. Peter fell asleep in the car on the way, and he was woken up by Harley gently shaking him.

“Come on, sweetie, wake up. We’re here.”

Peter sighed and stretched out. He hadn’t been sleeping well lately, with the end of the term coming up, but his nap during thirty-minute car ride was the best sleep he had in a while. “Where am I?”

“In front of your apartment building. It’s time to go home.”

“Don’t want to go,” he mumbled, opening his eyes. “Hey, Harley?”

“Yes, Peter?” Harley was looking at him with a fond, faintly amused smile that made Peter feel like he was melting. He wished Harley would smile like that at him forever.

“Are you going to leave me?”

Harley sighed and looked away. Peter wished he had said nothing, but he watched Harley expectantly. “Yes, and no. I’m driving back to Tennessee tomorrow morning, but I’ll be back. I’ll come visit over the summer. I have a place to stay in New York, and I’ll stay the whole summer. We can spend the whole break together, if that’s what makes you happy, Peter.”

Peter smiled and took Harley’s hand. “I think I’d be the happiest boy alive.”

Harley squeezed his hand. “That’s it, then. See you in a few weeks?”

“It’s a date.” Peter squeezed Harley’s hand back once, then clambered out of the car. He heard Harley’s laugh through the car’s open windows as he drove off, and he stood in front of his building, watching the other boy leave.

The next morning, Peter woke to about a dozen notifications on his phone. He ignored the texts and calls from his friends, who somehow had found out he’d left the dance with Harley, and the only text that caught his eye.

Harkey K.: Can’t wait for our date. See you soon, sunshine. 

When Peter met his friends for lunch, they all asked him why he was smiling so much. He just shrugged and told them, “Harley freaking Keener.”

**Author's Note:**

> Catch me on Tumblr @bellaxbeatrice


End file.
